Endeavour steps up fight against waste for World Environment Day

Endeavour Foundation is taking its fight against waste to the public, using World Environment Day to encourage people to reduce their impact on the environment by supporting the organisation’s recycling services.

Endeavour’s recycling and waste management strategies prevented more than 4,500 tonnes of reusable items from ending up in landfill in the past year.

The organisation has implemented several new initiatives in the past year, which have boosted Endeavour’s recycling capacity by 20 per cent.

The environmental campaign follows World Environment Day on June 5.

Endeavour’s recycling initiatives include running the new Brisbane Tip Shop, managing two waste transfer stations and tip shops in the Southern Downs region, providing confidential document destruction services throughout Queensland, stepping up a kerbside clothing collection service throughout Queensland to collect and sort recycled textiles, and opening four new Endeavour Recycled Clothing (ERC) stores to sell quality donated garments. There are now 35 ERC stores throughout Queensland.

The organisation’s latest weapon against waste, the Brisbane Tip Shop, was opened last month at Acacia Ridge.

A partnership between Endeavour Foundation and Brisbane City Council, the shop sells furniture, household goods, sporting equipment, toys, bikes, barbecues, building materials and more, salvaged from the council’s four waste transfer stations.

The aim of the shop, along with the other recycling initiatives, is to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill while also providing revenue to support people with a disability.

“Endeavour Foundation is committed to the recycling industry,” said CEO David Barbagallo.

The recycling initiatives are part of Endeavour Foundation Industries – the organisation’s commercial arm that provides employment opportunities for people with a disability. All EFI profits go toward supporting people with a disability.

“Our aim is to contribute to the environment by diverting more waste from landfill, while continuing to enhance the lives of people with a disability,” David said.

There are 27 EFI sites throughout Queensland and New South Wales, with nine Queensland sites offering a confidential document destruction service which sees documents shredded in a secure environment and then recycled into paper and cardboard. The nine sites to offer the service are in Toowoomba, Maryborough, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Cairns, Maroochydore, Innisfail, Warwick and Redcliffe.